Canada's New Groceries Benefit: Check Your Payment

0:00Low-income Canadians heads up that quarterly GST credit just got a fresh name, the Canada groceries and essentials benefit, and its hitting bank, accounts this Thursday, April 2. It's tax relief for families scraping by, with payments like $533 if you're single, $698 if married, or common law, plus $183 per kid under 19. All based on last year's tax return, and a 2.7% bump for this year. Prime Minister Mark Carney dropped news back in January about a one-time top-up, basically 50% extra on the annual 2025-2. 2026 amount, totaling $3.1 billion for over 12 million folks. They aim to pay it out soon this spring, latest by June 2026 to ease the grocery squeeze. Food prices jumped 4.1% in February alone after 4.8 in January, so this cash feels timely as families watch those. Receipts climb.

1:00It's straight-help-to-offset where you've shelled out in sales tax. Looking ahead, July 3rd's payment gets recalculated and bigger, then October 5th, with a new grocery rebate boosting 25% for five. Years and 8.6 billion total, pulling in 500,000 more people. If you're eligible, peak at your direct deposit or CRA account now, and keep an eye for those other April benefits too, staying ahead of the curve on. This relief wave, I'm Cory with the story, that's your Toronto News Today update AI-powered and always on.